Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) on Friday had a one-on-one meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan in Washington, marking the first such meeting since the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979.
Although the US’ Taiwan Relations Act does not forbid the speakers from having public meetings, the US was concerned that doing so would cause political speculation.
However, since the US Congress passed the Taiwan Travel Act earlier this year, interactions between senior-level government officials from the two sides have become more frequent and public.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US
In 2008, then-legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) met with then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other US representatives at the US Capitol, local media reported.
During the meeting, Wang invited Pelosi to visit Taiwan.
Su met with Ryan on the sidelines of two memorial services for US senator John McCain on Friday and Saturday. Su represented Taipei at the ceremonies.
Su in a Facebook post on Saturday said he had met with Ryan, as well as US Senator Cory Gardner and several US representatives.
Su said that in addition to paying his respects to McCain, he also expressed gratitude to the US Congress for its staunch support for improving relations between Taiwan and the US, as well as for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Su arrvied in Washington on Thursday, leading a delegation to McCain’s lying-in-state ceremony at the US Capitol on Friday, and a national memorial service that took place at Washington National Cathedral the following day.
At Saturday’s ceremony, Su met with US politicians and foreign dignitaries as they recalled McCain’s life of service, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US said in a statement.
McCain passed away from brain cancer on Saturday last week at the age of 81.
Su’s delegation is scheduled to return to Taipei today.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
RSS